Rest of my grateful list

I wanted to finish my grateful list through Thanksgiving, so I am going to list six more things.

-I am grateful for a good car that made it easier to drive in the snow and ice to Utah.
-I am grateful for laughter. When driving to Utah we saw a sign coming up and I joked with Dave that it was going to say that our freeway was closed, and it was. We had to drive another 70 miles to get a motel. We had to laugh because that is just how our trip was going.
-I am grateful for family, enough said.
-I am grateful for heat, it has been so cold and it is so nice to come in to a warm house.
-I am grateful for Cafe Rio, we are in Utah and always make a trip there.
-I am grateful for my Savior and the gospel. I don't know what my life would be like without it and I don't want to know.

Meetings and Christmas Magic

I didn't do one yesterday, so I'll do two again. I am grateful for meetings. I may be one of the only ones but I usually like going to meetings. I usually get to go without my children and I come home a better person, whats not to love. Last night was no exception. We had our yearly Primary Stake Leadership Meeting and it was just what I needed. I felt rejuvenated and motivated to be better.

I am grateful for the Christmas magic that Ella is really feeling this year. She knows Christmas is coming, the Christmas stuff in every store just might give it away. She is so excited she just can't hardly stand it. I finally bought some of the Christmas classics that I remember watching as a kid: Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus is coming to town, and Rudolph. She is in heaven. I am usually totally against anything dealing with Christmas before Thanksgiving but I caved for her. The other day after watching one of the Christmas shows, she was yelling that she loved Santa Claus. She is so excited to sit on his lap and she knows exactly what she going to ask for. Lucky for me it is only two things that are very doable, a princess castle and a Rapunzel doll. Her Christmas spirit is contagious and I am so excited for Christmas as well.

My Little Helpers

I am grateful for my two kiddos. This is for today and yesterday since I have two. I love them so much. They love to help, sometimes I don't love the help but I really try to let them because they want to and love to.

These two are so special, they both definitely have a distinct personality and know what they want. They aren't perfect but they both fit perfectly into our family and I wouldn't change a thing.

VT & Smell

I didn't do one yesterday so I will do two today.

I am grateful for VT. I'll admit that in college I was not a fan of VT, I just didn't feel it was needful and I didn't really like it. After I got married and had the opportunity to serve as Visiting Teaching Coordinator, then I started to appreciate VT. I love getting to know people that I normally wouldn't know if it wasn't for VT. Yesterday I went VT and I love the women I visit. My partner is awesome. As I get to know them, I am in awe of the things they have been through and what great women they are.

I am also grateful for my sense of smell. I love the smell of good food, clean clothes, the outdoors and many more things. Dave is gone on business for a few days, before he left this morning he was holding Tanner and Tanner has smelt like Dave's cologne all day. It has reminded me of him all day. I love that we associate things, people, and memories with certain smells.

Washer and Dryer

I am grateful for my washer and dryer. Last weekend Tanner had the flu and Ella just threw up a couple hours ago. It is so nice to have a washer that will clean up all the bedding. I don't love laundry but I am sure I would hate it a lot more if I had to do it by hand. Thank you washer and dryer for making my life a little easier.

Sleeping In

I am grateful that Tanner slept in today. When the time changes it is always rough for my kids. Tanner is no exception, he has been waking up at 5:00 am for the past five days and it has been killing me. Today he slept in till 6:30, I thought I was in heaven. My hope is that he will eventually go back to sleeping till 7:00 but I will take 6:30.

Good Friends

I am grateful for good friends. I am specifically talking about Julie and McKenzie. These girls are my two closest friends right now and they are awesome. They both happen to live right around the corner from me, which is fabulous. Sad part is that both put their houses up for sale within a week of each other. One will still be close, thankfully. But one is leaving us to go back to the West Side, which is not good. I want to say a little bit about each one.

Julie, she is amazing. She is generous and is always serving someone. She is honest and open but is always kind. I remember when I moved into the ward and met Julie, I knew I wanted to be her friend. That first Summer, she saved me. We went on a walk almost everyday and it was honestly the highlight of my day. I had no friends and it was so fun to be able to talk to someone.

I also remember my first birthday in this ward because Julie brought me a Steamer from Starbucks because she remembered me talking about how much I liked them. It meant a lot that she remembered my birthday and that she listened to me. It meant a lot Julie.

McKenzie, she is awesome. She is funny and says things that nobody else says and what everyone is thinking but won't say. She has a way of making anyone feel like they are her good friend. Its amazing that McKenzie is still my friend after what shes been through because of my kids. At a Ward picnic when Tanner was a new baby and he threw up his whole bottle in McKenzie's lap, she was wearing a very cute outfit.

She also saved Ella from drowning. The kids were playing in the small pool after swim lessons and I look over and Ella had lost her footing in the pool. I had Tanner in my arms, since he was still a new baby. I was making my way to other side to save her and McKenzie just jumps in fully clothed and saves Ella. After Ella was okay and I cried a little, it was actually pretty funny watching McKenzie jump in this baby pool fully clothed.

Love both these girls.